BOJ in dilemma as Ukraine crisis raises specter of price hikes

If Japan had real wage growth the past 15 years they wouldn't have to be in this predicament when all indications are that companies can ill afford additional cost during these trying times. SMBs are going to feel the pain.

Japan is the only country which has deliberately devalue its own currency for decades. The end result is robbing money from pockets of its citizens.

Just sell it under the slogan our freedom has now a big price to pay. The masses will love it and not complain. lol

"To cope with rising prices, we will deploy every possible policy measure to protect people's livelihoods by enabling companies to pass on costs and creating an environment for them to raise wages for workers," Kishida told a recent parliamentary session.

It looks bad all round for the Japanese economy.

When unemployment begins to rise the younger Japanese might start to find their voices and oust their useless politicians.?

Well its not James bond specter thats for sure !

Whats Mr Maruyama smoking with his joint normalization policy ?

But I thought Russia was going to come out as the biggest loser? Can't be? Surely not? Oh, that's right, I've been reading too much western MSM.

Cost-push inflation would cut into corporate profits and reduce real income without wage hikes....

Japan's naïve leaders like Kuroda never imagined that the push toward neo-liberalism they promoted would result in corporations minimizing labor costs as much as possible -- in good times and bad. You'll never get those wage hikes, especially when the govt is also pushing and pay for full employment.

Hence the current call for a "new capitalism." Back to basics.

War is raging in Eastern Europe now and the “safe haven” yen has just hit 5 year lows against the U.S. dollar, which itself is plagued by high inflation.

The BOJ ought immediately terminate its “monetary easing”.

In the first place it was supposed to be part of a package together with third arrow structural reforms from the government to free up the economy from decades old, outdated Showa era regulations.

The BOJ has no real power to control wages; that is always on the government to adopt policies to make for more competition in various aspects of the economy.

"It's ironic that the BOJ's monetary easing has helped weaken the yen and boosted import prices, and the government is now giving subsidies to mitigate the impact of higher energy prices," Dai-ichi Life's Kumano said.

That the government still persists with pre-neoliberal era subsidy policies shows just how far behind Japan has fallen.

Kuroda never imagined that the push toward neo-liberalism they promoted would result in corporations minimizing labor costs as much as possible

That ball was never in Kuroda’s court.

What is neoliberal about printing loads of money so that the government can spend it? That’s not my father’s neoliberalism.

Hence the current call for a "new capitalism." Back to basics.

Kishida’s New Capitalism is Just More Socialism, unfortunately.